Disclaimer: All characters,
places, etc, belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. Basically, if you recognise
it, it's not mine, it's hers.
This story begins in the holidays
after Harry's fourth and Ginny's third year. The action begins at The Burrow,
and is from Ginny's POV. This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, so please, be
gentle.
Chapter One- Surprise Visitor
"Ginny!
Breakfast!"
Ginny tucked her diary under her
mattress and got to her feet in response to her mother's call. She ran her
fingers through her long, fiery curls and opened her bedroom door.
"Breakfast!"
Mrs Weasley called again.
"I'm
coming, Mum!" Ginny called back. She ran down the stairs, opened the
kitchen door and stopped short.
Seated
at the kitchen table, along with Ron, Mr Weasley and the twins, Fred and
George, was a person Ginny knew very, very well. It was a person she thought of
often, and every day of these summer holidays she'd considered sending him an
owl- but she never could gather the courage to actually send the many notes and
letters she'd written. The best she had been able to do was to sign her name on
the card Ron had sent for his fifteenth birthday.
Harry
Potter.
Harry
glanced up as the door opened and smiled at Ginny warmly, his green eyes bright
under a shock of untidy black hair. She tried to smile back, but it didn't come
out very well and she felt her face turn scarlet. She was infinitely grateful
for the fact that she had dressed before coming downstairs.
"Isn't
it wonderful, Ginny?" Mrs Weasley bustled around the table, setting down
bowls of steaming porridge. "Dumbledore said it was all right for Harry to come
to us at last. He arrived last night on the Knight Bus, and he'll be staying
with us for two weeks- until school goes back!"
"Hello,
Ginny," Harry said.
"Hello,"
Ginny muttered, taking her seat next to George. George gave her a sidelong
grin, but she ignored him and picked up her spoon. As the rest of the family
set about eating their breakfast, she glanced across the table at Harry. He
looked tired, but he'd lost the dead look he'd had in his eyes at the end of
last year, after Cedric was killed and Voldemort returned. He looked happy,
sitting at the old table with her family surrounding him. Voldemort had not
resurfaced since that night, and she supposed some of his worry had faded.
Harry
glanced up and caught her watching him. He smiled, but Ginny blushed again and
quickly looked down at her bowl. It was ridiculous, the way her face turned
bright red whenever Harry looked at or spoke to her. It had been like this
since his first visit to the Burrow, right before Ginny started at Hogwarts-
but she'd been fascinated by him long before that. She remembered the first
time she'd seen him, at King's Cross Station…
"Ginny!"
Ron said, breaking into her thoughts. Ginny jumped, and spilt some porridge.
"What?"
she said, annoyed at herself for appearing so clumsy yet again.
"I've
been trying to get your attention for the last minute," Ron said. "What were
you doing, daydreaming?"
"Yeah,
off with the pixies again, eh Gin?" Fred grinned. "You know, they say that's a
very bad sign-"
"Fred!"
Mrs Weasley said sharply.
"Sorry,
Mum, I forgot that you're susceptible to these attacks of daydreaming too…"
George
snorted with laughter.
"Yeah,
old Gilderoy Lockhart looks pretty good in daydreams, doesn't he Mum?"
"BOYS!"
Mrs Weasley shouted, causing Mr Weasley to drop the Daily Prophet. "That's
enough!" Rather pink in the face, she got up from the table and began gathering
the empty bowls.
"Anyway,
Gin," Ron went on, "We thought we'd do some flying after breakfast. You can
come too, if you like?"
"Maybe,"
Ginny murmured, accepting a piece of toast from her mother. She was glad to be
included, but she wasn't exactly what you could call a wonderful flier and she
wasn't anxious to be humiliated in front of Harry yet again.
"Oh,
come on," Harry said encouragingly. "It'll be fun. You can have a go on my
Firebolt, if you want."
Ginny
nodded, not meeting Harry's eyes.
***
After
breakfast, Ron, Harry, Ginny and the twins headed outside. Everyone except
Ginny carried a broomstick over their shoulders. Harry, she noticed, looked
ecstatic to be outside with the prospect of flying ahead of him. She knew his
life with those Muggles- the Dursleys- wasn't much fun.
"Where's
Percy?" Harry asked as they all trudged along through the sweet-smelling summer
air.
"Oh,
he's visiting Penelope," George said, setting his broomstick down his
broomstick. "We can't actually believe he's taking time of work to go see her,
but I guess she got sick of getting letters and told him he had to go."
Fred
sniggered.
"Mum's
expecting an engagement announcement any time, but I can't see old Perce making
any decisions like that in the near future. You know Percy." he said.
Soon,
the boys had kicked off from the ground and were zooming through the air.
Harry's Firebolt far outstripped the other brooms- he was like a streak of
lightening, flashing about and catching the apples the other threw to him.
Ginny sat on the grass, watching, her mind elsewhere. More than anything she
wanted to tell Harry how she felt. To tell him that it wasn't a silly little
hero-worship crush, but something far deeper.
But
how could she tell him? To Harry, she was just Ron's little sister. Even when
he had saved her in the Chamber of Secrets, it had meant nothing to him in that
way. She shuddered, forcing away the memory of Tom Riddle emerging from the
diary. It still filled her with fear. She'd only been able to start writing in
a diary again in the last year.
Besides,
she thought, her mind on Harry again, it was obvious that he was interested in
Cho Chang, the pretty, smart, Ravenclaw Seeker. Though perhaps that would fade
a bit now, for Cho wasn't going to get over Cedric in a hurry…
"Why
would he like me, anyway?" she muttered angrily, pulling at the grass with one
hand.
She
was startled when Harry landed beside her, his face flushed with excitement and
his eyes shining. The others were still in the air. Fred and George were
chasing Ron, pelting small pebbles at him.
"It's
so good to get back on a broomstick again!" he said, breathing heavily as he
flopped down on the grass beside Ginny, sitting so close that her side tingled.
"I've missed it so much."
Ginny nodded, unable to speak.
"Looking forwards to your fourth
year at Hogwarts?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair and causing
it to stick out in all directions. She had an urge to smooth it for him, but
resisted.
"Yes," she said, finding her voice.
"It'll be good to get back- though I do like being at home."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Your
house in great," Harry said, glancing over at The Burrow. "I wish I could live
here."
"It isn't all that fun, living with
the Muggles, is it?" Ginny was amazed. She was actually having a normal conversation
with Harry Potter, without acting like a fool!
"No, it's not," Harry said. "The
Dursleys don't like me much. They never have." He changed the subject abruptly.
"Do you want a go on my broom, then?"
"All right." Ginny started to get to
her feet, and Harry took her hand to help her. Tingles shot up her arm and she
busied herself brushing grass from her clothes. Harry handed her the Firebolt,
and she mounted and kicked off from the grass.
She gasped as the Firebolt rose high
into the air, her hair whipped back from her face. It turned at her lightest
touch and she almost laughed out loud with the sheer joy of it. Her brothers
flew towards her, but she turned the broom and sped away, hearing the
complaints of the boys.
"We don't stand a chance of catching
you on that, Gin!" Ron shouted.
Ginny
laughed. For the next few minutes she flew about, feeling her worries lift- her
fears over Voldemort's return and her dread that Harry would never like her in
more than a brotherly way. She glanced down a saw him watching her, and her
heart jumped.
Eventually,
Ginny began descending. As she came closer to the ground, she saw that Harry
was smiling at her. It was such a warm smile, such a true, honest smile.
Perhaps
it was because she hadn't flown for a long time, and certainly never on a broom
as good as the Firebolt, perhaps it was because she descended too fast, or
perhaps it was Harry's smile, but whatever the reason, Ginny suddenly felt very
faint. She swallowed hard and clutched the broom handle as tightly as she
could, still descending, but the dizziness overcame her and Ginny felt herself
slipping sideways and falling from the broom. Blackness overcame her a second
before she hit the ground.
***
"Ginny,"
someone was saying urgently. "Ginny!"
Strong
arms were holding her, shaking her very gently. Her head hurt very much, but
she opened her eyes, slowly, to see a pair of bright green eyes, filled with
concern. Her vision cleared and she made out Harry's worried face. He was
sitting on the grass, holding her in his arms. Her brothers crouched around
her, their faces very pale underneath their freckles.
"What
happened?" Ginny asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"You
fainted, or something," Fred said, "and fell. It was a good thing you were
pretty close to the ground."
"My
head hurts,"
"That's
what you hit on the ground," George explained, his face still pale. "You don't
have any broken bones, though. We'd better get you back to the house."
Harry
was still holding her against himself, and Ginny felt her face grow warm. He
looked so concerned…but of course he would. It didn't mean anything, she
reminded herself.
Something
occurred to her suddenly, and she opened her eyes wide.
"Your
broomstick!" she gasped.
"It's
okay," Harry reassured her quickly. "Fred got it." He nodded towards where the
Firebolt lay on the grass, and got to his feet, still holding Ginny. Carrying
her, he began to walk towards the house.
"D'you
want me to take her, Harry?" Ron asked, as George picked up the Firebolt.
"No,
it's okay. I've got her," Harry replied. "It's okay, Ginny. We'll be there in a
minute."
Ginny
nodded, gazing up at his face as he carried her, warm and safe, in his arms.
Suddenly, the good feeling inside her was replaced by humiliation. What an
idiot she must have seemed, fainting and falling from the broomstick! She
closed her eyes in shame, unable to look at Harry.
A/N: To be continued, soon. I
hope you like my first attempt at Harry Potter fanfiction. Ginny has always
been my favourite character, as I feel I can truly identify with her. I will
welcome any reviews- but please, try to keep any criticism constructive. If you
hate my story, that's your opinion, but I don't like flaming.
